THE AIMS OF INVESTOR TRADER

1. To earn £1,000,000 by investing and trading the UK and Australian equity and FOREX markets over a five year period, beginning 28th April 2009 and finishing at the close of business on the 27th April 2014.

2. To use a chunk of any profit derived in that time to loan to third world entrepreneurs via Kiva.

Okay, so that’s the official stuff out of the way!

Here it is in picture form for some of my close personal friends

THE REALITY

So I’ve set the bar p-r-e-t-t-y high huh? Agreed! But what the hell, faint heart never won fair maiden, and all that! Personally I’ll be happy with a grand but that’d be a pretty boring concept for a website and not really newsworthy enough to get anyone stopping by.

YOU GOT THE GOODS?

It’s a big question! Probably not! What I don’t know about the markets could fill a tome. I’m more Lunch Buffet than Warren Buffet. I’ve been investing in UK equities for a little over a decade now (with very limited success) and I’ve been dipping in and out of very small-scale, day trading (mostly FOREX) for three years, at the time of writing.

One of the big bonuses for me personally from writing this blog, will be that I’ll be adding to my trading and investing knowledge on an almost daily basis. This will be a massive learning experience and I hope to take away a lot from user comments, so please share your thoughts and ideas with me.

I make my living online from a number of travel-related websites using the very methods I’m aiming to employ to get the ball rolling here (basically advertising revenue from our friends at Google Adsense and anyone else kind enough to buy a little advertising space). So I’m fairly confident about hitting that first thousand quid, it’s the following 999 where the fun will begin.

WHY THE UK MARKETS?

I spent the best part of a decade in the UK (I’m one of them transient Aussies you avoid on the tube) and that’s were I amassed my modest knowledge of the markets. I no longer live in the UK but I find the market there a little more enthralling than the Australian equivalent.

DO YOU GIVE INVESTMENT ADVICE?

Hell no! If I did and you’d followed that advice over the years, you wouldn’t be able to afford that fancy, schmancy computer you’re sitting behind. I’ve got a selection of “insufficient funds” ATM receipts from all around the world. I collect them like others collect matchboxes.

So I beg of you, don’t consider anything I have to say as investment advice. It is not advice, read the discaimer! I’m here to journal my attempts to make a few quid from the markets and possibly to entertain you a little into the bargain. Please, please, please, do your own piles of research and if you want good investment advice go out and find someone who does this sort of thing for a living (ie not me).

Most of my investment decisions are based on gut feelings, hearsay, unfounded rumour and whether or not I like the cut of a company logo.

I tend to invest in highly speculative stocks more often than not on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). I look at AIM like an amplifier for investing – in the good times things can be very, very good but when they’re bad they’re rotten. Oh, and I’ve got a soft spot for green companies, especially green, alternative energy companies, they make me smile.

If I have more than a shot in a million of pulling this thing off, then early-to-mid 2009 needs to be the dawn of a bright new investment spring and not a just a short-term retracement before markets continue their plunge into financial winter. What can I say, I’m an eternal optimist.

IN THE BEGINNING

To begin with, on the 28th April 2009, I set aside the following stock from my personal portfolio (who am I kidding, it was my entire personal portfolio) to begin the Investor Trader portfolio which in effect is now my personal portfolio. Confused? Don’t be, no exchange really took place, its all just semantics. Besides, it would have been a fairly boring first few months without something to keep our eye on:

ReneSola Ltd. (SOLA.L) – 2,377 shares purchased at £1.0450 per share for a total cost of £2,483.96

Low Carbon Accelerator Ltd. (LCA.L) – 1,834 shares purchased at £0.2950 per share for a total cost of £531.86

Climate Exchange PLC (CLE.L) – 78 shares purchased at £7.00 per share for a total cost of £546.20

Total Initial Outlay: £3,562.02

Capital appreciation (or dreaded depreciation) derived from this initial injection will be included in the revenue but the initial outlay of £3,562.02 must be paid back in full (we’ll have no cheating here I tell ya) in our calculation of progress toward the magic million. So I guess we’re starting out at three and half grand in the red. So be it!

PROGRESS

The home page sports some big fat numbers showing our progress (however slow it may be) and obviously there’ll be this blog where I’ll share with you my market dealings and take on board your ideas (please give me ideas).

You’ll be able to view the actual breakdown of our portfolio as it stands at any given time by clicking the portfolio button links at the top of each page.

So, wish me luck, I think I’m going to need it!